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Steve Burns, Actor On Kids Show ‘Blue’s Clues,’ Says He Battled Severe Depression

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Leena Nasir Entertainment Reporter
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“Blue’s Clues” host Steve Burns opened up about his struggles with mental health, and revealed to fans he struggled with severe clinical depression while filming the kids’ show.

Burns opened up about his struggles during an interview with Variety published in November. The 49-year-old said he battled depression for the entire six-year period he starred as the character Steve in the children’s show.

He hinted his state of mind played a role in his abrupt exit from the show in 2002, according to Variety. “I didn’t know it yet, but I was the happiest depressed person in North America,” Burns told the outlet. “It was my job to be utterly and completely full of joy and wonder at all times, and that became impossible.”

“I was always able to dig and find something that felt authentic to me that was good enough to be on the show, but after years and years of going to the well without replenishing it, there was a cost,” Burns continued in the interview.

“My strategy had been: ‘Hey, you got a great thing going, so just fight it!’ Turns out, you don’t fight depression; you collect it,” he said.

Steve and Blue were introduced to the world in 1996, and the show quickly became one of the most popular and influential children’s television series of all time. Then, in 2002, Burns abruptly announced he would be leaving the show. The show’s plot accounted for his absence by indicating Steve had left for college. In reality, Burns departed because he was approaching 30 years old and he felt it was time for him to leave, according to Variety.

“After I left ‘Blue’s Clues,’ there was a long period of healing,” he told the outlet.

Burns touched on the fact that after he disappeared from the public eye there was a rumor circulating that he had died. “I was under the working assumption that most of y’all thought I was dead,” Burns said. “That rumor was so persistent and so indelible that I assumed it was a cultural preference. I eventually just took the hint. I kept my head down and left public life,” Burns said to Variety. (RELATED: Selena Gomez Opens Up About Her Health Struggles In Trailer For New Documentary)

Burns was able to deliver a message to his viewers by using the voice of his character during a Twitter announcement celebrating the 25th anniversary of the original “Blue’s Clues.”

“You remember how when we were younger, we used to run around and hang out with Blue … and then I left and we didn’t see each other for a really long time? Can we just talk about that? Because I realize that was kind of abrupt,” Burns said in the clip, which has amassed over 1.9 million likes. “I just wanted to say, I never forgot you. Ever.”